This season plan some outdoor time to enjoy studying feathered creatures in your neighborhood. We have provided a Bird Feet Observation Worksheet to go along with your Autumn Bird Nature Study. Also you will learn more about woodpeckers. Take some time to follow the links in the archived challenge to view a variety of woodpeckers and determine which ones live in your neighborhood.
After your outdoor time, no matter which feathered friend you found to study, follow up with the Bird Nature Study notebook page found in the Autumn Notebook Bundle.
Make sure to click the link below to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, printable notebooking pages, and suggested follow-up activities.
Homeschool Natures Study Members can download the Bird Feet Observations Worksheet and the Autumn Bundle which includes many pages to incorporate fall learning all season!
Watch Live Bird Cams
If you live in a city or find it hard to observe birds, try watching live cams. Cornell Lab offers a great variety of Live Bird Cams! From ospreys, owls, condors, hawks, to regular videos at bird feeders, you can watch many different types of birds. The National Audubon Society also offers free live cams, however you do watch them on YouTube.
Paint Autumn Birds
We love when Nana paints birds! You can paint these wonderful creatures to continue your Autumn Bird Study! Be sure to read: Fall Bird Study for Your Homeschool.
Even More Bird Nature Study Opportunities!
Finding more time to admire the avians? We have a variety of helpful resources to add to your bird study. Click on one of the images below.
These fun owl nature study ideas include live owl cams, owl pellet dissection, bird field guides and more to help you learn more about these fascinating and beautiful birds!
Who Cooks For You? A favorite unit study for my boys, Owls! I believe it was the fun of getting to stay up late to listen for owls and call out into the backyard, Who Cooks For You, the Barred Owl “hoot”. I’ve compiled a few Fun Owl Nature Study Ideas if you do not have owls in your neck of the woods.
Fun Owl Nature Study Ideas
Owl Live Cams
For many of us, we rarely have the opportunity to watch owls. Primarily because owls are nocturnal. So I greatly appreciate Owl Live Cams, hosted by the Owl Research Institute. These cams offer many different species of owls to watch from the comfort of your home. They offer at least 5 live cams, some areas are not active year round.
Owl Pellet Dissection
We have dissected owl pellets more times than I’d like to remember the smell of them. But this is such a fun science experiment. We have done this as a group project through our science co-op, a field trip activity at our local Nature Center, and an at-home purchase. Using the Scientific Method you can guess what you will find in each pellet and then carefully pull them apart discovering bones and fur. Don’t forget to discuss new words with younger students like: carnivore, digestion and regurgitation, etc.
Homeschool Nature Study Members can print both Herbivore or Carnivore Worksheet for younger students and the Owl Pellet Dissection worksheet (following the Scientific Method) for older students.
Bird Field Guides for Owl Nature Study
Did you know, there are about 250 owl species? We enjoyed taking a day to flip through owl books and Birds of Prey Field Guides. You can take a moment to read our Top Picks for Field Guides. Field Guides are usually available at your library if you’re not ready to invest in one just yet.
Watch Famous Owls
Hedwig, Errol, Pidgwidgeon … my boys were Harry Potter fans and this series loved to show off many different types of owls. We would pause the screen and then try to identify which type of owl we were seeing. The Owl Research Institute offers a page on their website for Owl Identification. This was quite fun, however not something I would recommend during a busy homeschool day! If you’re not a Harry Potter fan, kid-friendly owl movies: Legend of the Guardians, The Owls of Ga’Hoole, Winnie the Pooh, Sword in the Stone, Sleeping Beauty, etc.
Owl Art
What fun to paint a Little Owl In A Tree, with Nana? These owl masterpieces make for such fun decorations, especially around Halloween. If your children do not like to start from scratch – you can print the bird themed scripture verses – and color in the owl coloring page from Your Best Homeschool. Chat about wisdom.
Did you know owls and wisdom go back to Greek Mythology? Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was often represented with an owl.
Other Bird Nature Study Ideas
We have enjoyed studying birds throughout the seasons thanks to Homeschool Nature Study! Here are a few more posts about different types of birds and great resources to use in your homeschool.
Homeschool Nature Study Membership
It’s a great time to join Homeschool Nature Study! We offer a multitude of science activities, hands-on learning ideas, seasonal nature studies, crafts, free resources for all ages – join the #outdoorhourchallenge community and enhance your homeschool science lessons!
Stef started homeschooling her boys in 2008. She quickly adopted a hands-on learning homeschool style and graduated her oldest tactile learner in 2021. Stef started the Hands-On Learning column in Homeschooling Today magazine. The Laytons currently reside in the foothills of Colorado where Stef also teaches yoga. The family loves to hike trails, stand-up paddle board, and chase sunsets. Stef shares travel and homeschool tips on IG at @LaytonAdventures.
Did you know that there are over 300 species of hummingbirds? These tiny, powerful creatures are fascinating to watch! Enjoy a hummingbird nature study and learn all about these tiny creatures!
Hummingbird Nature Study Activities For Kids
One of the first activities we did was to make “nectar” for our hummingbird feeder. We added 4 parts water to 1 part sugar in a pan and heated it until it was boiling and the sugar was dissolved. We let it cool before pouring into our feeder. You might enjoy this on making a hummingbird feeder.
Make a Hummingbird Feeder
My girls were excited to hang it in our tree by the window. On our to-do list is to also plant a hummingbird garden.
While an older video, you will definitely enjoy this on feeding hummingbirds during migration.
And, to inspire you more, enjoy this hummingbird filling station!
Learning About Hummingbirds
We learned many facts about hummingbirds and made a paper bag hummingbird nature journal. Did you know that hummingbirds are the only bird that can fly backwards? We’re also trying to keep track of what time of day we see our hummingbird— morning, afternoon, or evening.
We enjoyed reading Little Green (geared more toward toddlers but it is a cute book suitable for pre-k/1st grade too. ) We still plan on doing the painting activity that is listed in that book! 🙂 We also played a hummingbird game. We had water bottle flowers in the backyard and my little hummingbirds had to fly to their color water bottle and get nectar.
Hummingbirds: Toddler to First Grade Unit Study
I created all the printables for our hummingbird unit and thought others might enjoy this hummingbird nature study too. There are over 20 pages of printables and activities included. I did all the work so that you can just print and go!
Hummingbirds Outdoor Hour Challenges for All Ages
There are two Outdoor Hour Challenges included in the Handbook of Nature Study in Homeschool Nature Study membership:
Summer Hummingbirds and Nests – This is a favorite nature study topic for so many families. If you have a hummingbird feeder, you can’t help but fall in love with these sweet nectar-seeking birds. They’re so colorful and graceful and so enjoyable to watch. You can’t help but be amazed at the speed at which hummingbirds flap their wings and fly up, down, and all around.
Use the ideas in this nature study to learn more about hummingbirds from the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock and the internet links provided. Follow up with a nature journal entry.
The Outdoor Hour Challenges Bring The Handbook of Nature Study to Life in Your Homeschool!
For even more homeschool nature study ideas for all seasons, join us in Homeschool Nature Study membership! You’ll receive new ideas each and every week that require little or no prep – all bringing the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool!
These are just a few of the activities we did. What I love about nature studies is that it is never over. Every time we look out our window and see a little hummingbird it brings the opportunity for more observations, questions, and conversations.
Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!
Maureen helps Christian mompreneurs operate their business from a place of joy, purpose, and excellence because they are clear on how their business is serving their family and others. As a homeschool mom, she believes success at home AND business without the mom-guilt, stress and burn-out is possible! Outside of work, she loves having good conversations over a hot chai or GT Gingerberry kombucha and spending time with her husband and seven children. Visit her at MaureenSpell.com
Enjoy an easy way to learn backyard bird calls. Then use the homeschool nature study on the robin, cardinal and house finch to discover even more!
I thought it would be fun to start to learn some bird calls. Our family is going to try to learn the calls of the birds from the Outdoor Hour Challenge. I have one son that definitely learns things well when we make them into a song so I thought this would be a fun project for him to do.
Learn Backyard Bird Calls: Robin, Cardinal and House Finch
If you would like to join us, here are the links to a website where you can hear the bird calls.
Robin, Cardinal, and House FinchNature Study for Your Homeschool
No need to stop at the backyard bird calls! This series of Outdoor Hour Challenges is going to help you study birds, their habits and their unique features. Learning to really see the parts of the bird in order to not only identify it but to see how each bird fits into the overall world of animals. I have decided to emphasis the most common backyard birds.
YourInside Backyard Bird Homeschool Nature Study Time:
1. Read the Handbook of Nature Study pages 27-28 to get a general overview of bird study using this book. In addition, read pages 43-44 for some ways to attract birds to your yard. I highly recommend hanging a feeder of some sort and providing water as well.
2.Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 57-62 about the robin. There is so much information about the robin on these pages that it is a little overwhelming. I would read the information and mark any ideas or facts that you are interested in sharing with your child. 3. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 127-130 about the cardinal grosbeak.
4. Backyard Birds: Read aloud with your child the introductory pages and the section on red birds: the robin, the cardinal, and the house finch. Take note of each bird’s field marks for future reference. Notice the difference between the female and male birds for each kind of bird.
5. Peterson Field Guide: Backyard Birds: Read the introductory pages 17-22(W) or 23-30(E). Look up in the index the robin, the cardinal, and the house finch. Observe the illustrations carefully and read the narrative descriptions and explanations.
Please Note: (W)=Western Birds and (E) Eastern Birds
YourOutdoor Hour Time
Take your 10-15 minutes of outdoor time to enjoy your own backyard. Since this series of challenges is about birds, be aware of any bird subjects that come your way. This could include feathers, nests, bird tracks, or the sounds of bird calls.
You could also use your outdoor time to hang a bird feeder and talk about what kinds of birds you hope to attract. You could talk about the different kinds of seeds. The more you include your children in the process of setting up the bird feeder, the more excited and invested they will be to watch for birds to visit.
Your goal this week is to spend the time outdoors with your children and perhaps observe a bird. What particular aspect of the bird are you observing this week? How about the color, size, and shape of the beak? This should get you started in your bird study.
Follow Up Bird Homeschool Nature Study Activities
For your follow up activity you can learn more about the particular bird that you observed. If you know what kind of bird it is, look it up in the Handbook of Nature Study for more information. You can also use the Peterson Field Guide or an internet resource such as whatbird.comor Cornell’s bird website.
The above websites also can help you identify an unknown bird. We will be learning in the upcoming challenges how to use a field guide to identify birds so don’t worry if you don’t find an exact identification for your bird.
The most important part of this challenge is getting outdoors with your children and beginning a search for birds. If you have a nearby park, you can try visiting there during your week to see if there any different birds for observation. Many parks have ducks and geese that make excellent subjects for bird study.
More Bird Nature Study Activities for Your Homeschool
Birds are such a joy to learn about. Here are some more bird nature studies you can enjoy!
Hopefully during your outdoor time you found something to investigate further. Questions are always a great way to extend your nature study to other days of your week.
This red bird challenge is from the Birds Course in our Homeschool Nature Study membership using the Handbook of Nature Study. You can purchase a membership now and have instant access.
Enjoy these fun activities for learning about bird nests and eggs. Includes ideas for getting outside, bird resources and suggestions for follow up activities as well.
Spring is the time for birds to nest and currently we have nesting boxes up for a variety of birds: bluebirds, swallows, flickers, chickadees, and new to us is a robin’s nesting platform. Every bird has its own unique nest and as we learn about birds, take time to look up and learn about their nest and eggs.
In Homeschool Nature Study Membership, there are several notebooking pages to use to record information about birds and their nests and eggs.
The book Birds, Nests, and Eggs is the perfect beginner’s book for homeschool nature study. It’s also a wonderful take along guide that features many of the common birds that we see in our yards and neighborhoods.
Examples of Nests and Eggs: This is a page on the Cornell website that shows actual nests and eggs for many common birds. Spend some time with your children clicking the images and viewing them together.
Nestwatch: This citizen science program is something your family could participate in if you have a nest in your yard. Take a look and see if it’s something you can incorporate into your nature study plans.
Listen to Nana of You ARE an ARTiST’s John James Audubon podcast. He was the famous ornithologist, naturalist, and painter that documented all sorts of American birds in their natural habitats. He also identified 25 new species!
Homeschool Nature Study members can find Bird lessons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter courses alongside the Outdoor Hour Challenge.
Bird Nests and Eggs Studiesin our Homeschool Nature Study Membership
You can find even more bird nature study ideas in the Learning About Birds Outdoor Hour Challenge curriculum. This ebook curriculum is available in annual Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are also bird studies in each of the seasons. So many resources to enjoy!
Each February, for four days, the world comes together for the love of birds. Over these four days we invite people to spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can find and reporting them to us. These observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations.
Birdcount.org
Bird Watching 101: Attracting Birds to Your Yard
Here you will find all sorts of ideas for attracting birds to your yard for homeschool nature study and birdwatching. We love to watch birds and do so on a regular basis without ever leaving our backyard. We can watch from our window or our deck and see usually around 4-5 different kinds of birds each day. At sometimes of the year, we have a lot more than that and it is exciting to see a new kind in the feeders.
Fun Bird Nests and Eggs Activities for Nature Study – Enjoy these fun activities for learning about bird nests and eggs. Includes ideas for getting outside, bird resources and suggestions for follow up activities as well.
Ultimate List of Bird Nature Studies Using the Outdoor Hour Challenges
You can enjoy a simple birds homeschool nature study with these resources we have gathered for you to use in your own backyard. It is such a delight to study and learn about these beautiful creatures! Find the list HERE.
Make Bird Feeders and Bird Crafts for Your Backyard Birds
We created these amazing bird feeders in a special winter event with our sister site, You ARE an ARTiST! There are even more bird feeders/crafts you can enjoy in the replay. Find out more in this Winter Tree Homeschool Nature Study!
These are such fun with sayings such as: “Bee Mine”, “I’m Nuts for You”, “Owl Love You Forever” and “I Love You Deerly”. Perfect for exchanging Valentines with friends or for mailing to grandparents! (Homeschool Nature Study members have these in your Resources course and on your February Nature Study Calendar!)
Keeping a nature journal and building the homeschool nature journal habit can be a wonderful extension of your outdoor learning time. You will find nature journal ideas for everyone from young children to the homeschool mom!
You can even start a Calendar of Firsts – such a wonderful habit that will hep your children notice seasonal changes and more.
Spring Homeschool Nature Study with Music and Art
Because by the end of February we are all ready for spring! You may even have some early spring bulbs poking through the soil! Take a peek at this Spring Homeschool Nature Study.
Join The Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these bird resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing series on bird nature study, bird watching and attracting birds plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
Here is how to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study.
Happy birds! We had large numbers of birds visit our yard during our snow days earlier this week. We had feeders filled with seeds and suet for them to enjoy. This time we had a special treat for them….a snowman bird feeder!
Winter Fun: How To Make a Snowman Bird Feeder
We created a small snowman on our deck and made eyes out of sunflower seeds and then filled the top of his head with a handful of sunflower seeds. I saw this idea on Pinterest and have been itching to try it. It took a little while for the birds to find the seeds but once they did it didn’t last for long.
They ate the eyes and all!
The second day I refilled the spot on the snowman’s head and they came back again.
It was a simple and fun way to observe birds from our window. The birds didn’t care if our snowman bird feeder wasn’t all that pretty.
I highly recommend trying this if you have snow in your yard. Snap a few photos and send one to me!
Join us for our Winter Wednesday homeschool nature studies!
More Winter Homeschool Nature Study Resources
Here are even more winter nature studies for you to enjoy together:
“The gobbler is the most vainglorious bird known to us; when he struts to show his flock of admiring hens how beautiful he is, he lowers his wings and spreads the stiff primary quills until their tips scrape the ground, lifting meanwhile into a semi-circular fan his beautiful tail feathers, he protrudes his chest, and raises the iridescent plumage of his neck like a ruff to make a background against which he throws back his red, white, and blue decorated head.”
Handbook of Nature Study
Fun Turkey Homeschool Nature Study Ideas
Wild turkeys are a funny bunch of birds. Homeschool Nature Study founder Barb McCoy says, “we lived in California, many times we saw turkeys in the woods and sometimes trotting down the back roads. They make a funny sound as they move through the trees and poke around on the ground for tidbits to eat. Then, if you get lucky, you’ll see the male turkey strutting his stuff and displaying his beautiful tail feathers!
Homeschool Bird Study – Turkeys
If you have a wild turkey or even a domestic turkey to observe, you’ll enjoy the suggestions in the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study. Another suggestion is to watch the videos in the original challenge to get a taste of what turkeys are all about and then read the Handbook of Nature Study lesson and finish with a nature journal page with your children.”
The full turkey homeschool nature study and a turkey notebooking page is included in membership – along with all the fun, fall favorite topics and a member calendar filled with daily nature study prompts!
Before the whole month of November slips away, let’s make time to observe what nature is doing at this time of year. Start off by completing the reading of pages 1 and 2 in the Handbook of Nature Study as a refresher.
Take a few minutes to think about how keeping a regular nature study period each week has benefited your family. Ask your children what they have learned so far this autumn season about the birds, insects, and plants in your neighborhood.
Victoria says, “As autumn gets into full swing, what better way to mark the change of seasons than with these super simple leaf prints. We are heading into that period of autumn where the leaves are on the cusp of igniting into rich shades of red and orange. Here in the UK, we usually have about a week of vibrancy before one strong wind comes along and blows all the colour to the ground. So it is best to capture its beauty while we can.”
Use the ideas in this challenge to get outside and find something of interest to note about your November World. Complete the notebook page in the Autumn Course included in membership or create a page in your own blank journal.
More Fall Homeschool Nature Study and Homeschool Ideas
Here are even more ideas for your November homeschool:
November is such a month of change and transition…don’t miss getting outside to view it for yourselves! Be sure to share your outdoor time on social media and tag @outdoorhourchallenge on Instagram or Outdoor Hour Challenges too!
The book Birds, Nests, and Eggs is the perfect beginner’s book for homeschool nature study. It’s also a wonderful take along guide that features many of the common birds that we see in our yards and neighborhoods.
(Note the link above is an Amazon affiliate link to a book that I own and love.)
The illustrations give a wonderful look at something we don’t often see because they are hidden from sight. The nests are shown in such a way that you can see the shape and what materials are used for creating just the right container for the fragile bird eggs. The eggs are also shown in full color. This is a fun way to learn more about birds and their life cycle. In addition, you’ll find some fun bird related activities to try and to weave into your backyard bird study.
When I found my first “Take-Along Guide” at a used book store, I was interested so I purchased it. But it was later when I began really reading it that I became really interested.
I would recommend reading through your Take-Along Guide before taking off on your nature walk. Then you can put it in your bag and bring with you on your walk and use it to identify things as you go. Read more of the Take-Along Nature Guides for Homeschool.
BirdResources to Use in Your Homeschool Nature Study
Examples of Nests and Eggs: This is a page on the Cornell website that shows actual nests and eggs for many common birds. Spend some time with your children clicking the images and viewing them together.
Nestwatch: This citizen science program is something your family could participate in if you have a nest in your yard. Take a look and see if it’s something you can incorporate into your nature study plans.
Bird Nest Studyin our Homeschool Nature Study Membership
You can find even more bird nature study ideas in the Learning About Birds Outdoor Hour Challenge curriculum. This ebook curriculum is available in annual Homeschool Nature Study membership.
This homeschool nature study will have you looking at winter birds and in particular the sweet little chickadee.
I consider this particular challenge as a personal lesson/revelation that nature knows no borders. You see when we first started using the Outdoor Hour Challenge and this little bird popped up as the focus of our weekly studies I was disappointed. I live in the UK and we have different birds to those of you in the States. I didn’t think that we would be able to follow along and it was so early on in our nature study days that I did not have the confidence to just find something else on our walk.
As I was gazing out of the dining room window at our bird feeder pondering on my dilemma, who should come along but a coal tit!
They are no stranger to our feeders along with their cousins the great tit, blue tit and those sweet mouse-like birds, the long-tailed tit.
The coal tit looks remarkably similar to the chickadee. After a bit of investigating I discovered that the American Chickadee and the British tits are all in the same genus. Yes, we may live across the pond and have wildlife that is unique to each country but there are similarities and connections.
From that challenge on if it was focussed on an animal or plant unique to the States, I would simply see if we had something similar and go with that. So please be encouraged to do the same whatever country you live in.
Nature Study Lesson Plans for Chickadee Nature Study
Here are some inside preparation ideas for your chickadee nature study:
Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 68-69 (Lesson 14).
Highlight a few of the questions in the lesson to use during your outdoor time.
Check your bird field guide, using the index to look for chickadees in your area. Share the images with your children.
Use some of your outdoor time this week to look for backyard birds. Chickadees should be present during the winter season and are often found at backyard feeders. Remember the questions from the Handbook of Nature Study lesson and gently guide your children to observe the chickadee to find the answers. Chickadees are often seen with nuthatches and downy woodpeckers and are attracted to feeders that offer suet and black oil sunflower seeds.
In areas that do not have chickadees, observe another feeder bird and their habits. Do they sit on the feeder or under the feeder? Which kinds of food do they like? What do they sound like? How big are they? How many of them are at the feeder?
Chickadee Nature Study HomeschoolFollow-Up Activity:
Follow-up your outdoor time by pulling out your bird field guide to identify and/or confirm any bird observations. If you saw a chickadee, have your child describe the bird with as much detail as possible. If they have trouble remembering, bring up an image on the computer to help them along.
If desired, allow time for a nature journal entry. Ebook users: Complete a Chickadee notebook page (regular or advanced) or a Winter Feeder Bird notebook page entry to capture the memory of your time outdoors. There is an optional coloring page included in the ebook.
Advanced follow-up: Read Distinguishing Chickadees. Read about Tricky Chickadees (Black-capped and Carolina). Compare two chickadees (notebook page included in the ebook).
Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Nature Study Curriculum and Year Round Support
There are so many benefits to joining. You will access our full range of curriculum, our interactive learning calendar as well as a brand new homeschool nature study challenge post each week!
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